#China's Xi says hopes to get #Philippines ties back on track

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping has told new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, after ties were affected by an increasingly bitter spat over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Mr Xi sent a message to Mr Duterte late on Monday (May 30) congratulating him on his formal election victory, and said the two countries had a long history of friendly exchanges and a deep traditional friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said. "The friendly, stable and healthy development of Sino-Philippine relations accords with the basic interests of both countries and both peoples," Mr Xi was quoted as saying in the ministry statement. Both countries had the responsibility to deepen cooperation, he said. "(I) hope both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track," Mr...